The following statement is to be attributed to Mike Parker, President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA).
EDMONTON — “Making sure people receive the appropriate level of care they need is important but these changes won’t solve the long-term issue facing dispatch which is not enough emergency communications officers (ECOs).
“This government seems like it will do anything but add permanent staff to solve staff shortage issues in Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
“Albertans want an ECO waiting to take their call and to quickly dispatch help when they are in an emergency – process change may help a bit but it doesn’t address the full scale of the problem.
“HSAA knows a credible response to the crisis requires two things – improve working conditions for the dedicated professionals responding to calls for help, and get more paramedics on our streets and ECOs to answer the call.
“Until we see more permanent paramedics and ECOs Albertans will still be waiting to see that any help is on the way.”
HSAA is 30,000 health-care professionals dedicated to protecting the public health system and the vulnerable Albertans who rely on it.
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Media Inquiries:
Kirk Heuser, HSAA Communications Officer
780-690-8199 | kirkh@hsaa.ca
